“In the heat of the 2000 election, then Governor George W. Bush of Texas made an off-the-cuff statement that we ought to take the log out of our own eye before calling attention to the speck in the eye of our neighbor. The New York Times reported the remark as a minor gaffe -- what it termed "an interesting variation on the saying about the pot and the kettle."The reporter -- actually a fine and balanced journalist -- did not recognize the biblical reference. Neither did his editors. And this, of course, was not an obscure biblical reference. Not only is it found in the red letters of the New Testament, it is taken from the Sermon on the Mount.”
Source: Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion
“It never occurred to me to wonder why I, a religion reporter, got the biggest story of the day, though, clearly, whatever else it was, it was a religion story. It wasn't until about twenty years later that a friend who had been managing editor at a Gannett paper said to me: "Rob, don't your realize you were probably the ONLY religion reporter in the whole country who got that story?"
I still don't know why I got it. Maybe they figure I was the only one in the newsroom who had any idea what a Sikh was. Or knew how to find them, let alone Hindus, in Orange Country, California”
Source: Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion
“It's the great flax of journalism: The more something happens, the less newsworthy it is. We have follow the same trajectory as the stock market---sustained and unstoppable growth.”
Source: The Nix
“You shouldn't be able to tell what a reporter's point of view is. Their reporting should give the facts, not their opinions, and let you decide. We have lost this in journalism today.”
Source: Speaking for Myself: Faith, Freedom, and the Fight of Our Lives Inside the Trump White House
“As any reporter knows, the story changes as soon as she appears with her notebook & recorder, no matter how unassuming she is or how delicately she navigates the scene.”
Source: The Inevitable: Dispatches on the Right to Die
“I have never heard feedback from a boss that employees report too much.
No matter your rank or role, there is always a place for reporting. It can take many forms, so it is not one-size-fits-all. Good reporting helps make your audience smarter.”
Source: Ghost Rules: Unspoken secrets to getting ahead
“But journalists thrive on not knowing exactly what the future holds. That's part of the excitement. Something interesting, something important, will happen somewhere, as sure as God made sour apples, and a good aggressive newspaper will become part of that something.”
Source: A Good Life: Newspapering and Other Adventures
“It's from the newspapers that people I know - relatives and co-workers - have got the idea that crosswords are a prophylactic against Alzheimer's. Newspapers are of course also the place where crosswords (and now sudokus) are most readily available, so the association is presumably good for circulation.”
Source: Two Girls, One on Each Knee (7): The Puzzling, Playful World of the Crossword
“Cherchez la femme" is good advice for investigative reporters. "Follow the money" is even better advice.”
“Uncertainty is as good a way as any to kill a story.”
Source: Read All About It!: The Collected Adventures of a Maverick Reporter